A Drink to the Foe We Vanquished

Before I start posting about Turkistan again, i have to send a big atta-girl! to Hillary for her concession speech yesterday. Because CNN is the one English language channel here in Istanbul, I was able to watch her delivery and performance, and i think the Dems are going to be all right. She was passionate, she adopted his “Yes We Can” slogan, and she really did urge her supporters to get behind the Big O. All in all, i stand by my vote to put her in a position of authority, but not as the Veep.

Anyways, enough “Amrican” – i am in Turkistan, and about Turkistan I will write. I just wanted it to be known that the first Efesus of Saturday, in an old tradition that says you raise a glass to the defeated – was dedicated to Hillary – who gave a speech good enough to make me like her for the first time in about 18 years.

 

A Historic Night!

By the time we go to bed tonight, Barack Obama will be the first black presidential candidate in the history of this country.  I am a big Obama fan (as is my momma) -  but fan or not, this is a big deal for all of us.  Hopefully Billary will stop destroying this party. 

To me it’s not about “the smartest guy”, though I think Obama can definitely lay claim to that title - it’s about being inspired.  I want to get EXCITED again about a politician, rather than choose the least of all evils.  I remember the first time I got really excited about politics – it was because of this speech.  It was because of this speech.  Reading them now – love him or hate him, Jesse gets the blood flowing.  I want to be part of this movement.  I want to follow when leaders like this lead.  I imagine its what my father (if he were white and in the US at the time) would think of this guy. 

Our generation has our Kennedy.  We have a more palatable version of Jesse Jackson.  The smartest guy is the guy who knows he needs to surround himself with guys who know more than him.  The smartest guy’s job is to take information, process it, and make intelligent, moral decisions.  We have Barack.  We have hope.   

Go Barack – and Go Dems in ‘08!

 

Kiva! Kiva! Kiva!

So I touted the merits of loaning money through Kiva in this post, and Nads and I have funded one round of loans.  If you don’t know about Kiva – shame on you!  They are an organzation who facilitates loans to 3rd world entrepreneurs at zero percent interest rates.  Their repayment rate has been phenomenal – something like 97% which just goes to show that many of the world’s poorest are looking for a hand-up, not a hand-out.  Repayment plans take from 6-12 months usually, and when all the funds have been repaid, the original lender can re-lend (hopefully) or remove his money.  You lose a little rate of return, but the difference in the lives of these struggling entrepreneurs is life-changing.  Nads and I have already started to see our loans repaid.  Here are the 4 entrepreneurs we lent to:

1.  Nasreen Akhter’s Group.  A loosely formed group of people from the same village in Pakistan who are looking to expand various businesses.  The lead woman – Nasreen, believes strongly in the value of education, and all 4 of her daughters go to school.  Only one of her school-aged children, her son, does not attend school, because his help in the family business is indespensible  It’s great – on February 29, they posted a request for $1,300 for various ventures.  On March 1, their request was fully funded, and by March 15 – about 6 weeks later – they had their money.  They have paid back 17% of their loan.

2.  Marlon Javier Arestogui.  A Nicaraguan rickshaw-wallah who needed $175 to improve his rickshaw.  He wanted to make some repairs, and “add a touch of elegance” for his riders.  He requested the funds on March 1, was funded the same day, and by  March 15, he had his money.  He has already paid back 21% of the loan.

3.  Getina Mwaibare.  A Tanzanian woman who is raising 6 children (4 of her own, and 2 nieces) needed $875 to purchase utensils and ingredients in bulk for her barbeque chicken business.  She originally borrowed a sum through Kiva for the initial seed money for the business – she paid that off, and now she is looking to improve.  She listed a request for the money on March 1, and by March 15, she had the cash.  !0 weeks later, she has paid back 17% of the loan.

4.  Kwegata Wakimese Group.  A group of 5 female entrepreneurs in Uganda who use the money for various home-based industries.  They were seeking $1,825 on February 29, and they too had their money by March 16.  10 weeks later, they have repaid 17% of their loans.

I am sure Nads and I will leave our money and re-lend, especially if we experience the same repayment success that Kiva has experienced across all entrepreneurs.  So for all of you thinking – “we want to do something good for someone, but we are a little lazy and unmotivated.”  Just click here!

 

 

Me and My Momma – We’re Both Voting for Obama!

Yes, as a reputable source of prognostication, I am endorsing Obama (and predicting he wins the nomination and the presidency).  Seriously Hil – nice run, but it’s over.  How were you with Bill for all those years, and you didn’t pick up one percent of his charm.  I agree with this opinion about the triumvirate to bring in the redneck vote.  I like this guy too – you lose some of the foreign policy credibility, but not a bad tradeoff.  We can always get this guy to come back as Secretary of Defense! 

I also started to think – I wonder if Bill sabotaged her run…I mean – we know he has impulse-control issues – he could have others.  He would always have something she didn’t have.  So he might be a cheater – but he’s a winning cheater!  I decided to just google the idea and see how many other conspiracy theorists think the same thing.  Clearly not an , as Google came back with 421,000 hits for “is bill sabotaging hillary?“.  Here is one sample.  Yup – I foresee trends after the fact…

 

Peace through Prosperity – Muslim Style

Finally, an amazing pioneer and model muslim gets recognition for the work he is doing.  The New York Times has a great article about the work of Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen bank and how it resulted in his being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  He truly embodies the muslim ethic of “sharia-compliant” finance, which eschews the charging of interest among other requirements.  His bank lends small loans to struggling entrepreneurs in developing nations, and he has had amazing success.  His lead has inspired other organizations to follow, with one of the best being Kiva. 

Yunus’ work is in stark contrast to the hypocritical bastards who claim to be doing “islamic finance” by simply sticking to the literal interpretation while circumventing the principles of sharia.  For example, Islam rejects the charging of interest because it is seen as usury and a burden on the poor.  In Islam, people are expected to share the burdens of their brothers, not profit from them. 

 So this new brand of corporate raiders is looking to capitalize on the greedy oil money coming out of the middle east by simply finding “islamic” ways of making the same return on an investment that one would make without charging interest.  Now, here is where I differ with many muslims – I don’t care if you slap me with your left hand or your right hand – it still fucking hurts.  By enveloping a project in the Quran, all these financiers are doing is alleviating the well-deserved guilt of these wealthy muslims who are looking to become even wealthier while their brothers suffer(certainly no law against capitalims, but why hypocritically charge that you are doing it in some sort of islamically-approved way?).  Just go build another ostentatious hotel in Dubai, or breed more racehorses. 

These, of course, are the same muslims who take the Prophet’s words so literally, that the results are sickly amusing.  It reminds me of the time that I was walking along the streets of San Francisco with one of these “uberfidels.”  This incident occurred during Ramadan no less, and as we passed homeless person after homeless person begging for food, I would watch and she would turn to each one and snap off a broad, almost perverse smile in their direction, hold it for a second or two, then continue walking.  After the third time, I finally asked what the hell she was doing, and she chirped that the Prophet always preached that one should ’smile upon those less fortunate’, so she was in fact, literally, smiling upon the homeless.  Of course, there was no consideration of what the Prophet meant by that – he said smile, and she smiled.  No fucking wonder we breed suicide bombers by the dozens with that level of intellectual exploration of the religion.  I am sure that the homeless person needed a smile more than a meal…really.

 So go to Kiva - lend some money.  Make someone’s life a little brighter.  To state it differently – smile upon someone less fortunate today, in honor of Muhammad Yunus!